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In a discouraging trend that’s leaving community rink co-ordinators worried, at least four outdoor rinks have been hit with a string of thefts and vandalism this winter.
In November 2024, the Eastview community rink had their snowblower stolen. The blower was replaced shortly after that thanks to a wave of community support.
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Then in January, the Hampton Village community rink had their snow sweeper stolen, along with two jerry cans full of gas and a storage shed lock was damaged.
Kirk Campbell, rink co-ordinator for Hampton Village, called the thefts really frustrating.
“It’s all volunteer time, it’s hard enough to get volunteers as it is,” he said. “You make time during your off hours to clean the rink, tidy up and then this happens.”
It’s not just the volunteers who are affected, it’s also the kids who look forward to lacing up their skates and skating on the outdoor rink.
Hampton Village community rink had a storage shed broken into in January, and a snow sweeper along with two jerry cans full of gas were stolen. (Kirk Campbell/Submitted)
Campbell said kids have been helping out by shovelling the ice off.
“It is a very good community .. people will tend to help,” he said. “It makes it a little easier for us (the volunteers) when we go out at eight o’clock, nine o’clock at night to do our duties.”
Campbell said extra security measures have been added since the thefts.
“We have added some additional locking mechanisms on the facility,” said Campbell. “The city actually did that through our city connection.”
The City of Saskatoon said in a statement it provides a matching grant of up to $400 for community associations to pays for natural gas, electricity, or other utility costs.
The city also matches grants between $1,000 and $2,000 depending on how many outdoor rink facilities are operated by a community association.
Campbell said he hopes to see better security provided to every community rink, whether it’s better locks and doors or something like security cameras. He also said he had heard from other communities who have been dealing with similar issues.
On Facebook the Stonebridge Community Association posted a notice that their rink shack was broken into and a snowblower was stolen.
In a reply to that social media post, Avalon Community Association said it had also gone through the same thing a number of times.
Campbell said it’s really heartbreaking to see this happen all across the city.
“It’s disheartening to see what is going on in our community,” he said.
In an email to CKOM, Saskatoon Police Service said it was only able to find a small handful of related calls between January 2024 and January 2025, some relating to theft under $5,000.
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